Makeup of the day – MAC Pink Nouveau Lipstick 

I got this great MAC satin lipstick in Pink Nouveau in a blog sale and I think I’m in love!  MAC Pink Nouveau is a very cool toned blue based pink lipstick in a satin formula.  I decided to deepen it up a bit with NYX Edge Pink lip liner, which borders on being fuscia.  

  
I think it looks great with Tarte Dollface blush, which is also a very cool toned pink!

  
The shadows I’m wearing are MAC Vanilla on the brow bone, Copperplate as my crease transition shade, and Howzat as the lid and outer V shade and smudged along the lower lash line.

  
I put up my hair to show off the jewelry my friend made me ❤

What are you wearing today? 

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Dogwood winter look of the day 

Here in the mountains, we have a saying for when it’s spring and we get a super cold snap: “Dogwood winter.”  Well, it’s beautiful and flowers are starting to bloom, but it just got super cold with freeze warnings every night!  I said “F it!” and wore some spring brights in defiance of the cold!

  
Behind me are a flower bed you can’t see, a dogwood not yet blooming, our Japanese maple, a Japanese Yaupon holly tree, and a rhododendron.

That shed across the way makes it look like we live in the country, but we live in a suburb off a major highway! So funny! 

Closer makeup look!

  
  

I really had fun with this one today!  Here, I topped the Tarte Dollface blush with MAC Full of Joy blush to give it a lavender highlight! 

  
BREAKDOWN: 

FACE:

MAC Prep and Prime face primer, NYX HD Concealer in green around the nose and yellow under the eyes, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer under the eyes, Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in 010 Light Porcelain (UK and Canada shade only), MAC Set Powder in Invisible, Guerlain Meteorites in Clair, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface (ZOMG so beautiful!)

EYES:

Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base; MAC Vanilla Eyeshadow as brow bone highlight; MAC Copperplate as transition crease shade; Urban Decay Spectrum palette Flashback on lid, Voodoo in crease and lower lashline, Flatline in inner corner; Urban Decay single shadow in Tonic in center of lid; Physicians Formula Eye Boosting Pen in black; Covergirl Clump Crusher water resistant mascara black, Milani Brow Shaping Clear Wax crayon, NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Black

LIPS:

Wet n Wild Fergie lipstick in Penthouse Sweet 

FRAGRANCE:

Atelier Cologne Vanille Incensee 

Necklace is from LindenEraStudio on Etsy! 

What are you wearing today? 

My Hair: FAQ



HAIR FAQ

Is it real?

Yes, it’s real. I mean, most of it. Some of it is fake.

Wow, who does your hair?

I do it myself. Yes, color and cut. And the extensions too. No, I’m not a hairstylist. To be fair, my best friend gave me this sweet mohawk recently. No, he’s not a hairstylist either.

Can I touch it?

You probably don’t want to. But no, you can’t. Don’t be weird.

What’s that… Stuff?

Oh, I collect little bits of random things. I keep it in a box labeled “hair stuff”. Right now, you’re looking at Christmas tree lightbulbs, keys, a broken necklace chain, synthetic dreads, leather cord, and beads.

Does it hurt?

Only if I lay on it the wrong way. It’s much more likely to hurt someone else. That’s a really weird question, BTW.

How do you wash it?

I don’t.

What products do you use?

Yes.

No, really. What products do you use?

Okay, here is an abbreviated list of things that are or have been in my hair: Cheap hairspray, Elmers glue, playa dust, sunscreen, lotion, beeswax, salt…

How do you get your eyebrows to match?

They’re natural. I get it from my dad’s side of the family. 😂  Same place I get my awesome sense of humor.

Don’t be a smart ass.

I shave them off and paint them on freehand with a thin paintbrush. Currently I use a long-wear liquid lipstick that matches my hair. If it’s black I use liquid eyeliner. If it is purple I use either purple liquid eyeliner or a matching eyeliner pencil set with matching eyeshadow.

What does your hair look like usually?

Exactly how it looks right now, but probably pinned or pulled back instead of fluffy and everywhere.

Does it take a long time?

Sometimes. Usually I just wake up with my hair looking all weird and hairspray it so it’ll stay weird. When I have it up like in the picture, it takes at least half an hour, but I can really just mess with it forever if I want to.

…okay.

I’m glad we had this little chat.

Soft spring look with Urban Decay Vice 4 

Well, spring has sprung in the Southern US.  Which means my allergies are going crazy!  I got some Flonase, but boy am I suffering!  Meanwhile, I hope my Covergirl Clump Crusher “water resistant” version really is water resistant.  I guess we’ll find out!  ANYHOO.  I just felt like doing some softer spring makeup today with a shimmery eye and a matte face/nude lip.  I think most folks think Urban Decay Vice 4 looks have to be crazy – not so!  You can definitely create soft looks with this palette.  (Product breakdown below!)

  
(Gosh, why so serious, Rachel?)

  
BREAKDOWN:

Face: MAC Prep and Prime Skin Base (interesting sample, not sure this is a necessary step?), NYX HD Concealer in green around nose, Revlon Colorstay 110 Ivory mixed with L’oreal Magic Lumi Primer and NYX white foundation mixer, NYX HD Concealer in yellow under NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, Inglot HD Powder to set face, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Celebrated, no contour or highlight today.  Honestly, I don’t think I got my foundation mix quite right, which sucks because it’s usually awesome!

EYES:  Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base, MAC Vanilla eyeshadow to highlight, Urban Decay Vice 4 shadows Discreet (crease), Robbery (lid/crease), Deadbeat (outer V/lower lashline), Physicians Formula Lash Booster liquid liner black, Covergirl Clump Crusher water resistant mascara black, Milani Brow Shaping Clear Wax pencil, NYX Micro Brow Pencil Black 

LIPS: L’oreal Lipstick in Nude Lust, Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Radiant 

Spring look of the day with MAC and Tarte 

Yesterday, we had my sister and brother in law over for dinner and I got dressed in a casual spring outfit with this great floral skirt that she had actually given me!  I did a little coordinated makeup with a corally pink lipstick.  

  
I did eventually put on some great ballet flats, heh!

Closer look!  
Base is the usual stuff, eyes feature some matte neutral shadows by Inglot, MAC Aquadisiac shadow on the lid and lower lashline, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless, and MAC Amplified Creme Lipstick in Chatterbox.

I got the great sterling and bloodstone pendant from EBay.

What have you been wearing this spring? 

Makeup of the day – Daytime smoky eye with MAC 

So, from time to time, I find myself pining for the Urban Decay Smokey palette.  I always talk myself out of it, because I HAVE THOSE COLORS (repeat to self 500 times).  I’m a sucker for packaging and I have the other 3 Naked palettes and will probably keep pining, though…even with my psychology degree, I’m a marketer’s dream come true!  Regardless, here’s a smoky look today I put together with some MAC shadows – enjoy!

  
  
  
Eye look was done with Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base, then I used MAC Copperplate eyeshadow as a transition shade in the crease and MAC Howzat shadow (LE, but substitute any deep frosty grey you like) in the crease below the transition shade and all over the lid.  I used MAC Electra eyeshadow to highlight the center of the lid. I blended Blanc Type on the brow bone as a highlight and used Howzat below the eye with a pencil brush.  I then used MAC Nehru on a 266 angled eyeliner brush for a soft smoky eyeliner…no liquid liner today!

You can take this look even smokier with black or grey liner on the waterline, but spring allergies dictate that I’m not doing this today – LOL! 

Blush is NYX Ombre Blush in Mauve Me and Lipstick is Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lovecraft.

What are you wearing today? 

Sonia Kashuk Knockout Beauty Collection nail polish – Roll With The Punches 

So…sweet and true, sometimes my hubby brings me nail polishes as a token of his affection and because he understands my love of color and all things beauty.  (You can all roll your eyes and go “oh, gross!” now.  LOL, I know.). This week, he brought me a bottle from the Sonia Kashuk “Knockout Beauty Collection” because the artwork looked “badass” and “look at this freaking color.”  Well, I have to agree! 

  
Look at that freaking color! No retouching here (honestly, I never retouch swatch photos).  This color’s BRIGHT, y’all.  And it’s completely overcast today!  

This lovely polish is available at Target now for $5.00. 

I’m wearing this with Barielle protein treatment and I did 3 coats of the Sonia Kashuk laquer to get the most saturated color, but I could have gotten by with 2.  I topped it off with Poshè top coat for a super glossy 3-free manicure.  

What’s on your nails? 

Get up, dress up, and show up 

So, I have been sick all week!  However, the NC primary was Tuesday.  I felt like I had to do my duty and vote no matter what, so I spritzed some Alterna dry shampoo and put on some slap!  Here’s my “I have to go adult” face:

  
But hey, Urban Decay Naked 2 eyeshadows, amirite?  

We’ll be back at the blogging momentarily! 

NYX Wonder Pencil First Impression

I’ve been trying a lot of NYX lately now that it’s available in CVS and Target.  I have quite a few reviews in store!

The NYX Wonder Pencil may just be my new best friend!  For years, I have used the MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/NW20, but it’s always been just a bit too dark for me.  Other skin tone liners have either been the wrong shade or irritated my eyes, plus I wanted something that would work for other makeup multitasking purposes.  Leave it to NYX to make another professional type product available at the drugstore!

  
My MAC pencil is a bit used up.  You do get more with the $16.50 MAC pencil, but the NYX product is only $4.50.

Shade comparison of MAC NC15/NW20 and NYX Wonder Pencil in Light (this comes in 3 shades):

  
I used the NYX pencil today for cleaning up and highlighting around the brow, reverse lip lining (really great since I have freckles around my lip line), and concealing a few dark spots on my face along with lining my waterline.  CAVEAT:  If you use this on your face and the waterline, sharpen that sucker to a clean point for fresh product before going near your eyeballs!  Also, clean your sharpeners from time to time with alcohol.  Ok, enough lecturing. 😉 

  
I am super pleased with this multitasking pencil!  Have you tried it?

Makeup of the Day – Spring Brights

Ok, let’s face it.  Here in the mountains, it’s definitely still winter at the beginning of March.  But it’s in the 70s today and everyone is outside going spring crazy.  (Unfortunately, we’ll get at LEAST one more snow when nobody expects it!) I simply could not resist getting out some bright makeup since it’s so sunny out. 

  
The stars of my look today are Sephora Countour waterproof eyeliner in Summer Cruise, MAC Pink Swoon blush, and MAC Girl About Town Amplified Creme Lipstick.

What are you wearing today?